UJA-Federation Volunteers Help Brighten the Holidays

Over 200 UJA-Federation of New York Westchester volunteers from across the county helped brighten the holidays for local area children, teens and seniors who are residential clients at three UJA nonprofit partners. The celebrations, all part of UJA’s Gift of Hanukkah initiative, were held on Sunday, December 16, 2018.

Over 40 families gathered to stuff 200 bears to be donated to children in residential treatment centers run by the Jewish Board. The event, chaired by Alana Pero (Armonk), Melissa Bahr (Chappaqua), Leslie Perelman (Scarsdale), Jen Galeon (Scarsdale), Rikki Javitch (Harrison), is part of UJA Westchester Young Families initiative which brings together like-minded, philanthropic young families who, like UJA, are devoted to helping people in need.

Residents of Kittay House, an independent senior living facility in the Bronx, enjoyed an afternoon of bingo, crafts and snacks. This event was chaired by Jill Goldfein, Ellie Goldenberg and Audi Schub, all residents of New Rochelle. “UJA’s Gift of Hanukkah program is one way that we do tikkun olam, to make the world a better place. We are happy to share our excitement for and love of Hanukkah with the people who live at Kittay House,” said Schub.

Teens at the Edenwald Center in Pleasantville were visited by volunteers, including teens from J-Teen Leadership, a program of UJA-Federation, who brought holiday cheer by painting faces and nails, putting on temporary tattoos, and serving ice cream. J-Teen Leadership volunteers Bianca Benedek (Hartsdale) and Morgan Ptaszek (Scarsdale) chaired the event with Jill and Donald Miller (Larchmont), and Abbey and Steven Moses (Larchmont)

UJA-Federation, supports a network of more than 75 core partners and hundreds of other nonprofit organizations, large and small. These nonprofits provide food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, independence for the elderly, jobs for the unemployed, as well as stimulating education programs for people in New York, in Israel, and in nearly 70 countries.

Photo captions:

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(l-r) Alana Pero (Armonk), Melissa Bahr (Chappaqua), Leslie Perelman (Scarsdale), Jen Galeon (Scarsdale), Rikki Javitch (Harrison) chaired the UJA Westchester Young Families Gift of Hanukkah Celebration.

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(l-r) The Bendell Family (Ardsley) - Amy, Gwenyth, Dalia and Ashley making stuffed animals to donate to children who are residential clients of the Mann Center, a nonprofit supported by UJA.

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(l-r) Jill Goldfein, Audi Schub and Ellie Goldenberg, all residents of New Rochelle, chaired the UJA-Federation Gift of Hanukkah celebration at Kittay House.

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Effie Nyer of New Rochelle plays bingo with the residents of Kittay House at the UJA-Federation Gift of Hanukkah celebration. (Photo credit: Mario Rubano)

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Maya Rose (Chappaqua), Molly Nick (Mt. Kisco), Madeline Plank (Briarcliff Manor) and Elan Roth (Thornwood) , J-Teen Leadership volunteers, celebrate the holidays with the residential clients of the Edenwald Center at UJA-Federation Gift of Hanukkah celebration.

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Morgan Ptaszek (Scarsdale), a J-Teen Leadership volunteer, celebrates the holidays with the residential clients of the Edenwald Center at UJA-Federation Gift of Hanukkah celebration.

About UJA-Federation of New York:

For more than 100 years, UJA-Federation has brought New Yorkers together to solve some of the most pressing problems facing our community. Through UJA-Federation, more than 50,000 donors impact the issues that matter most to them, pooling their resources to care for Jews everywhere and New Yorkers of all backgrounds, respond to crises close to home and far away, and shape our Jewish future. Working with a network of hundreds of nonprofits, UJA-Federation extends its reach from New York to Israel to nearly 70 other countries around the world, touching 4.5 million people each year. For more information on how to donate or volunteer, please visit our website at www.ujafedny.org .